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No Complications in Lung Transplant; Difficulty Selecting Zimmerman Jury; Warren Buffett Giving Back, Helping Girls to Read; Major Explosion at Chemical Plant; Hillary Clinton Address CGI.

Aired June 13, 2013 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: So breaking news, a major explosion and fire at a chemical plant in Geismar, Louisiana, along Highway 30. Not far from New Orleans. It's the Williams Olefins Plant. Take a look at some of these pictures we've been getting in. We're also hearing about multiple reports of injury, but not getting a clear picture of how many or how bad those injuries could be. The authorities, obviously, first and foremost, trying to get the fire under control, evacuating the area around the plant.

And we just received a statement from the company, as well. Part of it stating this: "We are currently focused on the safety and well, of our employees, contractors and the local community who are responding to the situation. Emergency shutdown valves have been closed. The unit is isolated."

It's a pretty fascinating plant. You never like to hear chemicals on fire, but in case you're wondering what kind of chemicals, this plant produces about 1.3 billion pounds of ethylene, about 90 million pounds of polymer-grade propylene every year. Ethylene is used to ripen fruit. And propylene is a flammable gas. It's usually used in helping make plastics and injectable moldings and fibers. We'll continue to collect our details and get those to you just as soon we know more, especially on the condition of any people who may be injured in that explosion.

We were the first to report this next story as breaking news yesterday, and it's great breaking news. Sarah Murnaghan, 10 years old, her family fighting valiantly to get her eligible adult lungs, the transplant that she waited so long for and needed desperately. Literally almost at death's door and now she's recovering because she got the lungs, she went into surgery, six-hour long surgery, she emerged in what's being called a success. This is this adorable child. Her reaction as she heard she was eligible for lungs. Look at that. 10-year-old girl barely able to open her eyes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Can't wait to hear her as she yelps with her new lungs.

Jason Carroll, our correspondent which as been following this live from Philadelphia.

When I heard -- this has been a drama playing out. When I heard she was going into surgery and she's emerged and that so far a success, it's just -- it does your heart joy. Do we know anything more about Sarah?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, she's still heavily sedated and, as of last night into the very early morning, she was still in ICU. Still incubated. But even though she was heavily sedated even before going into surgery, Ashleigh, her mother and her aunt tell me that they still read to her every day, still talked to her, hoping that she could somehow hear them, hear their well wishes in some way, shape or form. And now that the surgery is over, that six-hour surgery, her mother really giving thanks to the person that made it all possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do we know anything about the donor?

JANET MURNAGHAN, MOTHER OF SARAH: They won't tell you anything. But that donor is her hero, our hero of this story. But she wouldn't have had access to that hero if it weren't for the change. This is lumbar (ph) transplant. This is an adult donor, this is lungs she wouldn't have had the opportunity to have access to just two weeks ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: This was a delicate surgery, a very difficult surgery. And even though she emerged successfully, she's not out of the woods yet. There still could be a lot of complications that can occur. There could be rejection. There could be infection. So what her parents are doing is just taking each day at a time. Her mother told me that Sarah has always been a fighter and they hope she will continue to fight.

BANFIELD: And I can only assume, Jason, they literally are day after day hold up in that hospital waiting for every development, waiting for her to open her eyes as she comes out of sedation. This must be so hard on them.

CARROLL: You know, once again, we're hoping to get word from the family in terms what have happens when she wakes up and what she says. But once again, it's just taking every day at a time.

BANFIELD: And we'd be remiss if we didn't talk about the other side of this case, because it became a case on Javier Acosta. Give me five seconds of Javier Acosta. Is he getting closer to getting the lungs?

CARROLL: He will is eligible. And under the new temporary change in national policy, once a child is deemed sick enough and receives special approval, another child can be put into this pool, as well. But as for Javier, 11 years old, also suffering from cystic fibrosis, you'll remember his brother died when he was 11, also waiting for a lung transplant. So for Javier it's a waiting game, as well.

BANFIELD: And the family, too. Our hearts go out to all of them.

Jason, keep us updated. Live in Philadelphia. Let us know how everything goes, not just for Sarah but for Javier's family, too.

The often repeated phrase, "Thank you, your service is no longer required," you're hearing a lot in Sanford, Florida. Because one by one, jurors are being questioned by these attorneys and attorneys on the other side in the George Zimmerman case. It's called voir dire. And, boy, is it specific. Just what does it take to get on the panel? What kind of person do they want? What person is out there they can get?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Some live pictures for you. This is Mark O'Mara, George Zimmerman's defense attorney. He is litigating live. In fact, this is what you'd call the make-or-break time to launch a case, when you pick the people who will decide your client's fate. That client is real high profile. George Zimmerman's second-degree murder trial, and it is critical that they get the right people and exclude the wrong ones. What's the right and what's the wrong? Sometimes you find jurors who just will say or do anything to get on a jury. More often than not, you hear people who will say or do anything to get off of a jury, but this is day four of jury selection.

And yesterday, there was one juror in this courtroom who created -- I think you could call it a bit of drama. I want to you to have a listen to what he told the defense attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON WEST, GEORGE ZIMMERMAN DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Did you form an opinion yourself whether or not Mr. Zimmerman should have been arrested?

UNIDENTIFIED POTENTIAL JUROR: Over time?

WEST: No. Within the first month or so.

UNIDENTIFIED POTENTIAL JUROR: I would say no.

WEST: You did not form an opinion?

UNIDENTIFIED POTENTIAL JUROR: No, not within the first --

WEST: You heard other people expressing opinions?

UNIDENTIFIED POTENTIAL JUROR: Oh, yeah.

WEST: But you were not taking a position yourself?

UNIDENTIFIED POTENTIAL JUROR: No, because I knew I didn't have enough information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: What's interesting, though, is it's not just how much information do you have, but how much information are you sharing, as well. Apparently, he did have an opinion, a pretty strong one. Here is a part of what he wrote on Coffee Party Progressive Facebook page in March of last year, less than a month after the shooting happened, quote, "Seminole County justice system needs an enema and they just might get one."

That's not good when you're confronted with that in court.

HLN's legal correspondent, Jean Casarez, live in Sanford, Florida.

You're shaking your head already. I can only imagine, Jean, with the amount of coverage that this case has garnered, there would be a lot of dissemination and analysis of that coverage, as well. And now, we're having to deal where what people are Facebooking and tweeting after they consume what they got on television, say, the hour before.

JEAN CASAREZ, HLN LEGAL CORRESPONDENT: And what you're saying, Ashleigh, is that social media is becoming like a private investigator so that when attorneys are in jury selection and jurors under oath are giving their non opinions, opinions, what they know about the case, what they don't, they can research the social media, because once it's there in the written form, that's your state of mind, and they can really show those inconsistencies. And the judge confronted this juror with this blog and how that they are not legitimate. Coffee Party Progressive said, you know what, I think I did write that. So that was probably it for him.

BANFIELD: I remember talking with jurors who had been dismissed after voir dire in Casey Anthony, and so many of this -- again, this is after they were leaving the courthouse. They said, I just showed up for jury duty, I had no idea that I'd be in that case. And they seemed very relieved because it is a massive burden in any case to be on a jury. And then to find yourself sort of right in the middle of the klieg lights.

Are you getting a clear opinion, can you see some of the reaction of jurors as they show up and realize, oh, dear god, really? Me?

CASAREZ: Do you know that this is one of the things I'm really surprised about. I'm hearing juror after juror say, four to six weeks, no problem. You might sequester the jury, I can arrange that, that is no problem at all. People want to be on this jury. That's the trend, that's what I'm seeing, feeling and hearing. And I'm surprised by that.

BANFIELD: Wow. Jean, I've said before to you and others, for anybody out there who asks me, how do you get off jury, I've got the sure-fire way to do it. Go enlist in the Army and serve your country by going overseas. Because then you'll get a break from jury duty. Or do your duty to the country by sitting on a jury. It's a great experience.

I'm glad to hear you say that.

CASAREZ: It is.

BANFIELD: Jean Casarez, keep us posted. Thank you. Will she or won't she? Man, I'm sick of saying that. And we're a long way away from 2016. But there she is live in Florida at the Clinton Global Initiative. Yes, she's in the spotlight. Yes, she's giving a speech. Yes, this is Bill Clinton's initiative, but is she dropping any hints there? You'll go live there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: We want to get you back up to speed. A chemical plant has exploded. There was a massive fireball that could be seen in Geismar, Louisiana along highway 30. This driver was able to just take a few shots. You can see the flames, the black plumes of smoke. We can tell you now that there is a shelter-in-place order, meaning do not leave your home. Stay where you are for a two-mile radius around this plant. They're calling this, I think, obviously, a hazmat situation. All of the people within that radius were notified by the telephone. This coming to us from the Ascension Parish Public Information Office, telling CNN that, yes, indeed, at this point, this is dire enough to have everybody in the two-mile radius shelter in place.

Also, in case you're wondering what that is in that smoke, what is burning in that fire, this plant was apparently producing ethylene and also polymer grade propylene. Those are chemicals that not only are used to ripen fruit, but also used in plastics and injectable moldings and fibers. Not good when combined with fire. We have heard there were injuries, but we haven't had any updates. So we're continuing to watch that for you and we'll bring it to you as soon as we know more.

Also, imagine this -- being forbidden to learn to read. Because that is true. That is what daily life is like for a lot of girls' right across this globe. You'll want to see the premiere of CNN's new documentary, "Girl Rising," coming to you on Sunday night.

When it comes to girls getting an education, one of the richest people in the world is certainly giving back and doing his part.

We have an exclusive interview. Poppy Harlow has been able to sit down with legendary investor, Warren Buffett.

He likes you. He always tells you everything.

(CROSSTALK)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not everything. He does not answer all my questions.

BANFIELD: But you always get the exclusive and the breaking news. And this is one of those things that it's not such a business story as it is a great human interest story, and it's a wonderful story in terms of its productivity.

HARLOW: It was interesting because every time I sit down with him, it's about the economy, business. This time, it was all about women. In the past few months, Warren Buffett has become much more outspoken about women in the workplace, what women mean to America's future, also the importance of girls' education. So ahead of this premiere of "Girl Rising" on CNN, we Omaha and we sat down with the Oracle of Omaha to talk to him about a lot of things.

He told me he thinks women in business throughout his life just have not gotten a fair shake, and he's speaking out loudly about it. But he also talked to us about the economic reasons why it's so important to investing in girls' education. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: What is the economic argument for investing in women's education? First, here in America.

WARREN BUFFETT, CEO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: The economic argument for investing in education generally is to enable people to rise to their potential. I mean, anybody that doesn't get a chance to fulfill their potential is being short changed. And when they're short changed, the country is short changed, too. If we were only educating people through the eighth grade, we'll say in this country for some reason, they would suffer, America would suffer. You can't leave lots of people below their potential and reach your potential as a country.

BANFIELD: On the question of investing in girls' education around the world, how important is it and does it pay off?

BUFFETT: It pays off for society to enable anybody to come close to their potential. I mean, just think of the great people that have existed throughout our own country's lifetime. And if they had been held back in any way, it would have been a great loss to the country. So we want everybody to find their potential.

That's a goal we'll never reach. But it's striving toward it is very important. It is important in the United States and it's important in the world. We can't influence that to any great degree in many countries.

Now, I believe in women's reproductive freedom because I don't think a woman has a chance to -- many women would not have a chance to reach the potential they would want to reach unless they do have reproductive freedom, so we support that big time around the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: That's great.

HARLOW: Yes. It was very interesting, and that's just part of it. It was a long interview. We'll air a lot more on CNN Saturday morning, so if you're awake Saturday morning, tune in.

I asked him, why are you speaking out about this now? He said, I have been talking about women and work and girls education to these college groups that come visit me in Omaha for years. But publicly, he is going forward after he read Sheryl Sandberg's book "Lean In."

BANFIELD: Oh, really?

HARLOW: And that motivated him to come talk about it. And his take is, look what America accomplished using what he calls 50 percent of its talent. You and I have a job, so it is not just using men, but he says, imagine what we can accomplish as a country fully utilizing 100 percent of our talent. And that really stuck with me.

BANFIELD: And paying that 50 percent.

HARLOW: Equally.

BANFIELD: Equal pay.

You mentioned it already, I want to repeat it though. It is Saturday morning, CNN Saturday morning.

HARLOW: CNN Saturday morning you can see much more.

BANFIELD: Excellent work. As always.

Poppy Harlow joining us.

I want to get to the breaking news. I want to give you an update on what's going in Louisiana with the chemical plant fire. We had heard there was this shelter-in-place. Very concerned about many people who are in that area.

And I understand that Lester Kenyon -- I hope I have your name right, sir -- Lester Kenyon, with Ascension Parish Public Information Office.

Can you hear me, sir?

LESTER KENYON, ASCENSION PARISH PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER (voice- over): Yes, I do.

BANFIELD: Can you give me an update what the situation is down there?

KENYON: The information I have is sparse right now because they're still working the scene. We have the Ascension Parish -- just after around 8:40 this morning, there was a fire at the Williams Olefins Plant in Geismar, which is next to Gonzalez, Louisiana. And Ascension Parish Sheriff's Office responded to the scene along with several fire departments, hazmat teams, members of Homeland Security and the Geismar Fire Department and police department are at the scene now, working that. And, yes, there has been a shelter in place that was enacted in a two-mile radius around the scene of the accident, and that was done by phone notification. We're asking -- shelter-ion- place means we're asking the people to stay in their homes until teams have responded, and it will be OK. We will also notify them by phone again.

BANFIELD: Do you know anything about the injuries? For about 50 or so minutes, we have been going on this skeletal report that there were indeed multiple injuries expected and reported, and yet we have heard nothing and seen nothing to that actual fact. Do you have any additional information on that?

KENYON: I do not. The information I am seeing also is on local TV here. I don't know where they're getting their information from. I don't have that information at this time. BANFIELD: And in that area -- you said it was close to Gonzalez. Is there a robust first responders-element in that vicinity, meaning they could get a lot of ambulances and first responders there for those who may be injured and --

(CROSSTALK)

KENYON: Yes, we do. We train for these types of events because this is a big corridor for plants along the river, the Mississippi River, and we have trained for these types of things, and that's in place.

BANFIELD: And then also, I just wanted to ask you about the materials in that plant. I can only assume you're familiar with that plant and it probably employs a lot of people in the area. We have only come under the understanding it manufacturers ethylene and propylene, polymer-grade propylene. Is there anything more to what's actually in that plant and what might be now in the air?

KENYON: That -- I have no information on that at this time actually.

BANFIELD: Sorry, I couldn't hear the last thing you said. I think you said you had no additional information on what's burning, is that correct?

KENYON: Yes, ma'am.

BANFIELD: And in terms of the fire responders, you said several fire departments. How many are in that area? I don't know if it is as rural as it seems. But are there a number of fire departments all within that area?

KENYON: Yes, there are. There are.

BANFIELD: All right. Mr. Kenyon, thanks so much for joining us. And if you can get any other additional information on the people who may be affected by this in terms of injuries -- we know about the stay and shelter-in-place for the two-mile radius, but we certainly are very concerned about those that may have been among the injured that was in the initial report if, in fact, that has happened.

Lester Kenyon, the public information officer for the Ascension Parish Public Information Office.

We'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: To Chicago live where former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is speaking. She is at the mic right now. This is a conference for two days, and that might sound boring, a two-day conference, but not when the entire Clinton family shows up. It is the Clinton Global Initiative, the third annual meeting, whereby, not only the Clintons but big A-Listers get together for the foundation that was begun by Bill Clinton, actually several years ago, a dozen years ago. The focus, on economic development and figuring out how to make things right and help the world in recovery in the most pressing challenges.

So Hillary Clinton leaves the State Department and goes right back into the political spotlight, so to speak. She has a new role with the Clinton Global Initiative as well. Have a quick listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER SECRETARY OF STATE: And I wanted to just briefly describe to you what I am going to do in my new role at the foundation. Certainly, I will be focused on applying lessons learned from around the world and building new partnerships across our entire portfolio, but particularly in three broad areas that have been close to my heart my entire adult life -- early childhood development, opportunities for women and girls, and economic development that creates jobs and gives more people and more places the chance to live up to their own God-given potential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Of course, all of those very laudable goals. But a lot of people are hearing 2016, 2016.

Erin McPike is in Chicago and joins us live by telephone.

Erin, a lot of people said they can't wait, if this is going to happen, to see Chris Christie side-by side, near Mrs. Clinton because that is what it could look like in 2016. Has that image emerged anywhere?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not yet. We'll see Chris Christie tomorrow on stage to wrap this Clinton Global Initiative conference. He will be on stage with Bill Clinton in the afternoon.

Of course, Hillary Clinton will be doing some more -- a few more things in the next few days, and have a big announcement here tomorrow about what a new area of focus of her work will be with the Clinton Global Initiative and the Clinton Foundation. That will happen tomorrow. And we'll be seeing a lot of Bill Clinton on stage, off and on, throughout the next few days. We have not seen any Christie sightings just yet.

BANFIELD: That's the big headliner obviously. A number of other big headliner as well, some of them not so political, maybe a little more on the star-spangled side, among others. You can keep an eye on that.

We'll have live coverage as well, because you can't escape the 2016 speculation. CNN will be live all day long.

In the meantime, that's it for me. Thank you so much for watching. Do appreciate it. Stay tuned now. AROUND THE WORLD starts now.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to AROUND THE WORLD. I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Michael Holmes is off today.

We're keeping an eye on breaking news near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This is right now. That is where a chemical plant is burning. This is the town of Geismar. There was an explosion.